[candle lamp]

The 7G6CS U3 & 7G3CS U3 are 1x18650 (or 2x16340) class of lights with a XM-L U3 emitter from Crelant. The lights have the same UI & dual-switch control & infinite ramping function as 7G5CS U3 I reviewed.

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The packaging for two lights are different, due to the different size of the lights.
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Manufacturer Specifications from user guide (manual) :

• CREE XM-L U3 bin LED with 50 000 hour life span
• Maximum output
1) 7G6CS : 715 lumen
2) 7G3CS : 500 lumen
• High efficient constant current circuit and output-luminance
• Micro controller drive circuit
• Tactical High Mode, and On side switch Infinitely variable brightness system
• Hidden Strobe and SOS, Quickly click 2 times side switch --> Strobe , and quickly click 2 times again --> SOS
• Working voltage : 2.7VDC - 8.5VDC
• Battery Types Supported : 1 x 18650 or 2 X CR123A
• Runtime
1) 7G6CS : High output at 2.6A : 715 lumen max for 95 minutes. Low output at 0.01A : 1 lumen max for 128 hours
2) 7G3CS : High output at 2A : 500 lumen max for 148 minutes. Low output at 0.01A : 1 lumen max for 100 hours
• Mil. Spec. Type III hard anodized aircraft grade 6063-T6 aluminum alloy
• Color : Black
• Ergonomic grip with anti-roll design
• Tactical forward tail cap switch
• Bezel : stainless steel
• High performance aluminum smooth reflector with concentrated beam shot
• Waterproof : IPX-8 Standard
• Lens : Toughened ultra-clear coated and anti-abrasion glass
• Dimensions
1) 7G6CS : Length 173mm, Head Diameter 48mm
2) 7G3CS : Length 134mm, Head Diameter 23mm
• Weight
1) 7G6CS : 182g excluding battery
2) 7G3CS : 92g excluding battery
• Accessories : Lanyard, spare o-ring
• Specially designed for Military, Law Enforcement, Self-defense, Hunting, Search& Rescue and Outdoorsman
• Tactical-on side switch Infinite brightness accessible
• Stainless steel retaining ring on the bezel protects the head from drops and impacts
• Effective range of the beam
1) 7G6CS : 400 meters
2) 7G3CS : 200 meters
• New hybrid reflector specially designed for CREE LED, which allows for better beam quality, efficiency and throw capability
• Newly designed high efficiency broad voltage drive circuit
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1. 7G6CS U3 Review



The light comes with two spare o-rings, lanyard with a key-ring, and a clip-on style pocket clip. There's no user manual. No belt pouch (or holster) included, so you need to figure out your own carry option.
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The hard (type III) anodizing is a matte black and consistent throughout with no chips on its surface. Anodizing is good on my sample. Lettering is clear and bright white against the black background. Knurling is present over battery tube and tailcap. There is a pocket clip on the battery tube works as an anti-roll device. The 7G6CS looks just like a miniature version of the 7G5CS.
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The light comes apart into four parts (i.e. head with a reflector, emitter/pill/electronics/side switch assembly, battery tube, and tailcap) without the use of tools.
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The light has a slightly scalloped stainless steel bezel ring and there's a large number of concentric ring ridges in front of the head, which give nice grip to remove the bezel ring and reflector. The light has an O-ring between the lens and reflector. There are four cutouts just behind the concentric ring ridges. The light has three large cooling fins and small ones ahead of the side switch for heat dissipation. There is a spring on the positive contact plate in the head, so flat-top batteries should work fine. But there's no mention of the light that has the reverse polarity protection function to protect from improper battery installation, so you should be careful to insert batteries correctly.
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The light uses AR coating lens and the purple hue is reflected on it. The aluminum reflector has a smooth pattern. Surface finish on the reflector (manufacturer calls new hybrid reflector) is very good from visual inspection, with very fine radial machining lines running down the reflector cup, and well-centered XM-L U3 LED sits at the bottom of the reflector cup.
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The distinctive aspects of the light are the dual-switch control and infinite ramping function. The mode-changing side switch is electronic switch, with a clear and audible click. It takes about 0.4~0.5 seconds to turn the light on actually by depressing the side switch from standby mode. This same delay dose occur when switching each mode.
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The battery tube has a cylindrical tube design and you can run 1x18650's or 2xCR123A's. The working voltage & current at High output of the light are 2.7~8.5V & 2.6A respectively on the Crelant website. So using 2xRCR123A's on higher outputs seems to be unreasonable, due to the high discharge ratio of the cells. There is a pocket clip which holds onto the light, and is head-facing, but not reversible.
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The knurling is not aggressive. Grip is acceptable, but the light may be slippery when wet.
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Threads on both ends are well machined, with the those on the rear end being anodized which allows the light to be locked-out when the tail cap is slightly loosened.
Threads on either ends on the battery tube mate well with the head and tailcap with no issues of cross-threading or grinding. The screws threads seem good quality.
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The wall thickness of the battery tube is somewhat thick, and looks sturdy.
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The tailcap switch is a forward clicky. The rubber switch cap is recessed within the tail end which is stainless steel retaining ring. It means the tail switch can be a bit difficult to access, especially when you are wearing gloves. The switch has slightly stiff tension with average travel and tactile clicking feedback. There is a band of knurling in the middle.
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There is a removable metal ring which has a small hole for lanyard attachment. It can be removed only after removing the O-ring on the battery tube. The hole on the metal ring is very small for the lobster-claw on the included lanyard, but a small split-ring is also included to make the good connection. The light can tailstand stably.
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User Interface

User interface is quite the same as 7G5CS & 7G3CS.
Turn on-off by the tailcap forward clicky switch (press-on for momentary, click for locked on). When clicking the tail switch, the light always comes on in High output mode regardless of the electronic side switch in the head. Mode switching is controlled by the side switch when on. A click on it can transfer in the order of "default" High -> "default" Low -> Standby -> Cycle. The light has no memory for the last setting used. If you click off-on at the tailcap switch, the light always comes on in High. Note that "default" High or "default" Low output can be changed to two different user-defined output levels by using the infinite ramping function as described below.

Pressing and holing the side switch will ramp in the direction of the last ramp state (i.e., if ramping is from max. to min. and min. isn't reached yet, it will continue ramping downwards to min. and vice versa). When the light hits max. output, there will be three blinks. When min. output is reached, there will be a pause of about 1.5~2 seconds. To select and memorize the output level you want, simply release the side switch. Memorized output will be reset to "default" High or "default" Low output if the tailcap is locked-out or removed or the light is turned off.

There are hidden strobe and SOS modes, accessed by double-clicking the side switch when on. Double-click once for strobe, double-click twice for SOS. A single click move you back to Standby. No light is produced on standby mode, but a small current will be drawn to allow the circuit to respond to a switch clicking. The electronic side switch only works when the light is powered on by the tail switch first. As such, there is no standby current on the 7G6CS U3 when the tail switch is shut-off. So I recommend you store the light locked out at the tailcap or clicked off.
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Ramp



The ramp of the 7G6CS is about 11 seconds from min. to max. output level, totally 21 seconds cycle. The light has reasonable ramping time for selecting output level (i.e. from min. to max. output takes about 11 secs). There is a 1.5~2 sec pause at min. output level to help the precisely selecting of output level and also there is three blinks at max. output as shown above.
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From left to right, VicLite 18650(2600mAh) protected, Nitefighter F30C, ThruNite Scorpion V1, Supbeam L25B, Crelant 7G6CS U3.
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The head size & body weight excluding battery of four lights are as follows :
F30C - 46.9mm / 162g, Scorpion V1 - 35.0mm / 166g, L25B - 51.0mm / 214g, 7G6CS U3 - 48.0mm / 217g
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The overall size is a little big, but reasonable for 1x18650 class. Overall grip is acceptable thanks to the other build elements (i.e., clip, cooling fins).
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The CR123A & 18650 fit well in the tube. All types (i.e., true flat-tops, wide and small button-tops) of 18650's work fine. Overall build quality is high.
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Measured Dimensions & Weight


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PWM



The 7G6CS shows no sign of PWM at any output level. I think the light is constant current controlled. I noticet there is no buzzing sound at any levels.
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Runtime



The runtime for 10% output of High (max.) output for various batteries is as follows :
1) 1xVicLite 18650 : 129 min.
2) 2xPanasonic CR123A : 76 min.
3) 2xAW RCR123A : 21 min.

Note that you do not get max. output on 1x18650. On 2xCR123A, 2xRCR123A, the 7G6CS can produce more output. The light is semi-regulated at High output level (i.e., regulation is expectedly better when running on higher voltage battery configurations). It seems the light use a buck driver. Regulation on 2x(R)CR123A's is maintained quite well aside from some minor fluctuations which isn't noticeable in practical use.
There is blip near the end of the run which are from the low-battery warning function on my sample on 2xCR123A's . I saw the light flashed for a few minutes before shutting off.
I think 7G6CS U3 has an overdischarge protection function which turns the light off at a certain voltage (much less than 7G5CS) automatically. The light shut down abruptly when all batteries (18650, (R)CR123A) are at the end of their capacity. But not sure if the light reached shut off due to the RCR123A's protection circuit.

As mentioned as before, I don't recommend you run the light on High on 2xRCR123A cells, due to very high discharge ratio.
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Relative Output Comparison


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Beamshot

1. White door beamshot (about 50cm from the white door)
- ISO100, F/3.5, 1/250sec, Auto white balance


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- ISO100, F/3.5, 1/640sec, Auto white balance


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- ISO100, F/3.5, 1/1250sec, Auto white balance



The light shows a narrow hot spot and average sized spill beam for this class. Generally the beam is clean. A corona around the hotspot fades into the spill beam, both are smooth and clean with no noticeable artifacts. The spill beam region is relatively smaller than 7G5CS. The beam has a cool temperature.
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2. Indoor beamshot (about 7m from the target)
- ISO100, F/2.8, 1/3sec, Auto white balance


- F30C
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- Scorpion V1
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- L25B
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- 7G6CS
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3. 55m Outdoor Beamshot
- ISO100, F/2.8, 1sec, Auto white balance


- Control Shot
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- F30C
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- Scorpion V1
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- L25B
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- 7G6CS
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4. 60~65m Outdoor Beamshot
- ISO100, F/2.8, 1sec, Auto white balance


- Control Shot
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- F30C
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- Scorpion V1
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- L25B
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- 7G6CS
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[New 13.02.09]

[New 13.02.09]
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2. 7G3CS U3 Review



The light comes with two spare o-rings, lanyard with a key-ring, and a clip-on style pocket clip, and user manual. No belt pouch (or holster) included, so you need to figure out your own carry option.
.
.






The hard (type III) anodizing is a matte black and consistent throughout with no chips on its surface. Anodizing is good on my sample. Lettering is clear and bright white against the black background. Knurling is present over battery tube and tailcap. There is a pocket clip on the battery tube works as an anti-roll device as well.
.
.


The light comes apart into three parts (i.e. head with a reflector, emitter/pill/electronics/side switch assembly, battery tube/tailcap assembly) without the use of tools.
.
.


The light has a flat stainless steel bezel ring. The light has an O-ring between the lens and reflector. The light has three cooling fins for heat dissipation. There is a spring on the positive contact plate in the head, so flat-top batteries should work fine. But there's no mention of the light that has the reverse polarity protection function to protect from improper battery installation, so you should be careful to insert batteries correctly.
.
.


The light uses AR coating lens and the purple hue is reflected on it. The aluminum reflector has a smooth pattern. Surface finish on the reflector (manufacturer calls new hybrid reflector) is very good from visual inspection, and well-centered XM-L U3 LED sits at the bottom of the reflector cup.
.
.


The distinctive aspects of the light are the dual-switch control and infinite ramping function. The mode-changing side switch is electronic switch, with a clear and audible click. It takes about 0.4~0.5 seconds to turn the light on actually by depressing the side switch from standby mode. This same delay dose occur when switching each mode.
.
.


The battery tube has a cylindrical tube design and you can run 1x18650's or 2xCR123A's. The working voltage & current at High output of the light are 2.7~8.5V & 2.0A respectively on the Crelant website. So using 2xRCR123A's on higher outputs seems to be unreasonable, due to the high discharge ratio of the cells. There is a pocket clip looks sturdy. It holds onto the light well, and is head-facing, but not reversible.
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The knurling is not aggressive. Grip is acceptable thanks to various ridge detail items, but the light is a bit slippery without a clip.
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Threads are well machined, but are not anodized. So it doesn't allow the light to be locked-out when the head is slightly loosened. Threads on the battery tube mate well with the head with no issues of cross-threading or grinding. The screws threads seem good quality.
.
.


The wall thickness of the battery tube is somewhat thick for the 1x18650 class.
.
.


The tailcap switch is a forward clicky. The rubber switch cap is recessed within the tail end which is stainless steel retaining ring. It means the tail switch can be a bit difficult to access, especially when you are wearing gloves. The switch has slightly stiff tension with average travel and tactile clicking feedback. There is a band of knurling in the middle.
.
.


There is two small holes for lanyard attachment at the tail end. The holes on the tail end is very small for the lobster-claw on the included lanyard, but a small split-ring is also included to make the good connection. The light can tailstand stably without lanyard attachment.
.
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User Interface

User interface is quite the same as 7G5CS & 7G6CS.
Turn on-off by the tailcap forward clicky switch (press-on for momentary, click for locked on). When clicking the tail switch, the light always comes on in High output mode regardless of the electronic side switch in the head. Mode switching is controlled by the side switch when on. A click on it can transfer in the order of "default" High -> "default" Low -> Standby -> Cycle. The light has no memory for the last setting used. If you click off-on at the tailcap switch, the light always comes on in High. Note that "default" High or "default" Low output can be changed to two different user-defined output levels by using the infinite ramping function as described below.

Pressing and holing the side switch will ramp in the direction of the last ramp state (i.e., if ramping is from max. to min. and min. isn't reached yet, it will continue ramping downwards to min. and vice versa). When the light hits max. output, there will be three blinks. When min. output is reached, there will be a pause of about 1.5~2 seconds. To select and memorize the output level you want, simply release the side switch. Memorized output will be reset to "default" High or "default" Low output if the tailcap is locked-out or removed or the light is turned off.

There are hidden strobe and SOS modes, accessed by double-clicking the side switch when on. Double-click once for strobe, double-click twice for SOS. A single click move you back to Standby. No light is produced on standby mode, but a small current will be drawn to allow the circuit to respond to a switch clicking. The electronic side switch only works when the light is powered on by the tail switch first. As such, there is no standby current on the 7G3CS when the tail switch is shut-off. So I recommend you click off the tailcap switch.
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Ramp



The ramp of the 7G6CS is about 11 seconds from min. to max. output level, totally 21 seconds cycle. The light has reasonable ramping time for selecting output level (i.e. from min. to max. output takes about 11 secs). There is a 1.5~2 sec pause at min. output level to help the precisely selecting of output level and also there is three blinks at max. output as shown above.
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From left to right, VicLite 18650, Jetbeam DDC20, Crelant 7G3CS, Fenix PD32 UE, Rofis JR20.
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The head size & body weight excluding battery of four lights are as follows :
DDC20 - 25.1mm / 78g, 7G3CS - 25.0mm / 71g, PD32 UE - 24.0mm / 77g, JR20 - 24.7mm / 89g
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The overall size is an average (i.e., reasonable for 1x18650 class). Overall grip is acceptable thanks to the other build elements (i.e., clip, cooling fins).
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The CR123A & 18650 fit well in the tube. All types (i.e., true flat-tops, wide and small button-tops) of 18650's work fine. Overall build quality is high.
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Measured Dimensions & Weight


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.
PWM



The 7G3CS shows no sign of PWM at any output level. I think the light is constant current controlled. I noticet there is no buzzing sound at any levels.
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.
Runtime



The runtime for 10% output of High (max.) output for various batteries is as follows :
1) 1xVicLite 18650 : 126 min.
2) 2xPanasonic CR123A : 74 min.
3) 2xAW RCR123A : 23 min.

Note that you do not get max. output on 1x18650. On 2xCR123A, 2xRCR123A, the 7G3CS can produce more output. The light is semi-regulated at High output level (i.e., regulation is expectedly better when running on higher voltage battery configurations). It seems the light use a buck driver. Regulation on 2x(R)CR123A's is maintained quite well aside from some minor fluctuations which isn't noticeable in practical use.
I think 7G3CS has an overdischarge protection function which turns the light off at a certain voltage (much less than 7G5CS) automatically. The light shut down abruptly when all batteries (18650, (R)CR123A) are at the end of their capacity. But not sure if the light reached shut off due to the RCR123A's protection circuit.

As mentioned as before, I don't recommend you run the light on High on 2xRCR123A cells, due to very high discharge ratio.
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Relative Output Comparison


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Beamshot

1. White door beamshot (about 50cm from the white door)
- ISO100, F/3.5, 1/320sec, Auto white balance


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- ISO100, F/3.5, 1/640sec, Auto white balance


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- ISO100, F/3.5, 1/1250sec, Auto white balance



The light shows a medium hot spot and relative small sized spill beam for this class. Generally the beam is clean. A corona around the hotspot fades into the spill beam, both are smooth and clean with no noticeable artifacts. The beam tint is a cool white, but a bit leaning to warm side.
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2. Indoor beamshot (about 7m from the target)
- ISO100, F/2.8, 1/5sec, Auto white balance


- DDC20
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- 7G3CS
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- PD32 UE
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- JR20
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• 7G6CS & 7G3CS supplied by Crelant for review. Thanks!